Not Again
by redcakeMaine
Summary: Amy is trying to move on with her life after the Vesper ordeal, but Dan is struggling. Suddenly, an event occurs that has them to believe that another trial oh strength, family, and friends is her to test them. Kind of AU.


**WARNING! Before you read this fanfic you must know three things!**

**1. It is pretty horribly written (and un-beta'd)**

**2. I read the books a long time ago and wrote this after Cahills vs. Vespers takes place.**

**3. Some things might not be accurate but I found this in my files and thought I might as well post it ( for the sake of having something to do.)**

Amy stood in front of her mirror, twisting every which way as if to memorize every single detail. She was going on her first official date with Jake this evening and she wanted to look perfect, which was unusually uncharacteristic for her.

Amy wasn't exactly the type to wear a big frilly dress. In fact, she had a t first wanted to go in her regular jeans and T-shirt, but Nellie had talked her out of it. They had finally compromised, after several hours, on Amy's blue velvet dress (with no frilly things, thank you very much) with matching blue headband.

Amy bit her lower lip, beginning to have second thoughts about this whole 'going out' thing. Was she really ready to commit after the hunt and the vesper ordeal, not to mention losing Evan… but she shook her head and then smiled. Jake and her were a perfect match...right? No. She wasn't about to let her low self esteem get in the way of that.

There was a knock at the door.

"Jake is here." It was Dan. Amy turned to face him.

He had been going back inside himself again. Even with Atticus there he never really turned back to his old self. She had originally wanted him to go see a therapist. Even brought up the idea with Nellie, but she had reminded Amy that the things he needed to get off his chest were to be kept secret to anyone other than the Cahills. But it had been 7 months and Amy was beginning to think that they should search for a Cahill therapist, or he was going to be like this forever.

Amy twirled around once. "So, how do I look?"

Dan raised his eyebrows. "Do you really want me to answer that?"

The truth was that Amy hadn't really, but she was willing to try anything to get the old Dan back.

"You're right, scratch that," she said. Amy smiled and Dan managed to return it with tight lips. After a second Amy grabbed her purse and rushed downstairs, ready to let the magical night begin.

Dan sat in his room doing his homework. He hadn't wanted to, but Nellie had threatened to throw away his copy of Call of Duty if she got one more note telling her that he still hadn't turned in last week's assignment.

The math was easy for him. It had always been. But it was the whole English concept that really bugged him. What did it matter, really? It wasn't like he was planning on becoming a writer when he grew up.

Dan was about to start on his geography homework when he heard a slight tapping noise. Dan however didn't pay it any attention, there was a tree right outside his window that's branches scratched the glass on occasion. But the tapping noise continued, and as Dan listened, he realized that the tapping noise was not the tree. This noise sounded deliberate, like there was a sort of pattern to it.

Tap, tap, tap.

Tap, tap.

Tap, tap, tap.

Tap.

The pattern kept repeating itself. Dan took a deep breath and willed himself to look out the window. There was nothing there. At least, that was Dan's first thought. But as he got closer he realized the faint outline of a person. A very large person dressed in black. Noticing the attention on him, the person began to open the window.

Dan's screamed, backing away into the hallway, not looking where he was going.

Meanwhile, the black figure had make it's way into Dan's room and was quickly advancing on him, hands digging inside his jacket for a weapon. The person had just successfully pulled out a dagger when Dan felt himself run into something and lost his balance.

He had just managed to steady himself when the man thrust his dagger forward, making Dan jump backwards, tumbling over the second floor banister. He landed on the first story with a sickening '_crack_' before he was engulfed in blackness.

"Dan! Dan, can you hear me?" Dan was pretty sure it was Nellie saying this, screaming it actually, but his head was foggy and he couldn't quite make anything out because of the sharp pain in his head.

"I'm going to go call an ambulance, I'll be right back." That had to be Fiske.

Dan moaned and opened his eyes to find himself looking into Nellie's.

"Oh my gosh, Dan! Thank god you're awake! Can you tell me where it hurts?" She asked.

The injured teen slowly raised his hand to his head, and then painfully lowered it down to the ground near his right side, trying to indicate that his back hurt too.

"Your head and your...side?" Nellie guessed. At Dan's lack of response she tried again. "Your...stomach, hip, uh, back?" Dan let out a breathy sigh when she got to 'back' and Nellie got the message.

"Your stomach and your back, got it. Just take it easy, kiddo. An ambulance should be here soon."

Just then Fiske walked into the room. He slowly kneeled down next to Nellie with a worried expression. "911 says they're on their way. How is he?"

Nellie said "Apparently his head and back are-"

Dan tuned them out as they continued talking as if he wasn't there. The fog was starting to clear in his head and the pain becoming more intense.

He suddenly remembered why he was lying here, injured, in the first place. The man in black! Dan sat up quickly, only to regret it as he cried out in pain and slumped back to the floor.

"Dan!" Both adults screamed at him. Dan ignored them. He had more important things to think about. Like who the man in black was, and why he had come through Dan's window. Whoever the man was, his original intentions had probably been interrupted when Dan had fell over the banister.

Dan's thoughts were interrupted by loud sirens outside the house. Nellie rushed to punch in the security code to open the front door. A stretcher carried by two medics appeared through the door. After that was blurry for Dan. His mind was still on the man in black.

He would not rest peacefully until he found the facts behind the attack. Dan hoped with all his might that this wasn't the start of another war between the Cahills and some mysterious enemy. He wasn't sure he could take it.

Amy's night with Jake had been fantastic. She had wanted it to last forever but had promised Nellie she would be back by 10:30.

Jake had walked her to the door and she had thanked him for the spectacular date with a quick peck on the cheek.

Amy had walked into the mansion happy. Nothing could ruin her mood. At least, that was what she thought until she saw Nelle. The young adult was sitting on the sofa in the living room, tapping her foot impatiently and staring into space.

"Nellie, is something wrong? I'm not late, am I?" Amy asked. Nellie jumped at her voice as if only noticing she was there.

"Amy! You scared me! No, you're not late, it's just...well, Dan had a little accident. Fiske went with him to the hospital. I was waiting for you to come home so we could both go seem him together." Nellie explained.

"In the hospital! I was gone for two hours and he lands himself in the hospital? What did he do this time?" Amy said.

Nellie looked at her uncertainly. "He fell from the second floor, over the railing. I was just going to check on him ,because I thought I heard him yell, and he just sort of landed in front of me and flopped around like a fish for a few moments."

Amy sighed. Couldn't Dan have just let her have this night off? It had been going so perfectly! Sometimes it seemed that he went out of his way to tick her off. Of course, she knew it would be unfair to judge before she heard his story, and her anger was just a way to conceal her worry for her brother. She was his older sister, supposed to protect him, but somehow he always managed to slip through her fingers.

**A/N: Horrible, right? Anyway, if you have an idea of where this should go (if it were to go anywhere) please tell me as I'm kind of flying bling with this one. Thanks.**


End file.
